In case you hadn't noticed, physical media are dying. Digital audio files long ago replaced CDs, movies are regularly available to stream, and games will download at the click of a mouse. There's no more reason to ever run to your local Best Buy . But there is still something alluring about physically touching your content source (just ask a vinyl fetishist). Jordi Parra, a Spanish design student, decided to combine that physical charm with digital convenience by creating a Spotify player, which streams tracks identified by small discs embedded with RFID tags.

Constructed of wood and plastic, Parra's Spotify radio has a decidedly analogue feel. While it takes its external design queues from old transistor radios, an Arduino processor resides inside, reading the tokens' RFID tags and looking for their associated music in the Spotify database. The device is a prototype constructed as his Masters thesis in Interactive Design at the Umea Institute of Design. Parra hopes to keep the project alive and wants to create a standalone version with an embedded version of Linux, Spotify and a speaker. (The current model actually plays the tunes through a computer; it must be connected via USB or Bluetooth.) To feast your eyes on more of the stunning creation check out the gallery below.
Gallery: Spotify Radio
Design Student Bring Physical Charm to Spotify originally appeared on Switched on Sun, 20 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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(Retail | Culver City, CA, USA)
(A guest comes through my line with a four pack of AA batteries and an energy drink called Assault. He is trying not to giggle during the transaction.)

Me: “Here is your receipt, have a great day!”

Customer: “Guess what?”

Me: “What?”

Customer: “You just charged me for Assault and battery!” *grabs his bag and sprints out of the store*

No, your monitor isn't broken. While this week's crop of games have been drained of color, they're just as ingenious as their more vibrant brethren. Inspired by doodles, noir cinema and silent films, this batch's stark graphics present curious mechanics and clever adventures. Their addictiveness is as simple as black and white.

Controlling one character in a game can be tricky, but as we've seen before, controlling two is a slippery slope. 'Black & White' (no, not the Peter Molyneux classic) puts us in the shoes of two creatures -- one black and one white -- who must be guided to a similarly colored exit. Of course, with two tangoing, this isn't as easy as it sounds, as you'll be controlling both at the same time. This is accomplished using the arrow keys, with your right and left directions reversed when guiding the white creature. Getting used to the controls is imperative, as you'll have to make both creatures work together in order to solve each stage's puzzle. One character jumps an obstacle while the other holds a door open, leaving your brain sorting out the anti-intuitive directions while planning ahead (think rubbing your stomach while patting your head). Soon enough, you'll be expertly timing dual jumps and forcing characters to certain areas so the other can move freely. While the presentation may be simplistic, each stage is so well-plotted, that when you get each creature home, you'll feel like a multitasking wizard.
Gallery: Black & White
Timewaster 'Black & White' Sends Two Opposing Forces To Bend Your Brain originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When I first started using Evernote two years ago, I was really excited about the universal capture tool. But I've lost my love for apps like Evernote because, frankly, I don't think they work that well. Here's why.
Photo by ryan bieber.

Last week, my pal Gina discussed perfecting digital filing systems in her Work Smart video series (see video below). In it, she asks me to share my tips for setting up a solid digital filing system.

In thinking about my response, I was reminded of a great post I'd read last year by former Twitter dev and current BankSimple CTO, Alex Payne, on what he calls everything buckets:

An Everything Bucket, since you're probably wondering, is what I call applications that encourage the user to throw anything and everything into them. They're virtual scrapbooks, applying a lightweight organization system to (often) unrelated data of varying types. These applications typically employ a proprietary database, or at best, build atop the SQLite database technology... They usually default to storing information in Rich Text Format (RTF) or Portable Document Format (PDF). They are Not A Good Idea.

I'd recommend reading Payne's full post when you've got a chance. It's an excellent general discussion of using software productively, and I don't think I can provide a more compelling or eloquent argument against everything buckets than he has already.

Payne's point regarding "Applications That Actually Do Things" resonates the most with me: Any of the "everything buckets" I've ever tried do many things poorly rather than one thing well (see the Unix philosophy). That doesn't mean that you can't or don't use Evernote or some other universal capture application to great effect. (You may be a wizard at making Evernote do exactly what you want.) For my part, I can only think of one thing it does well, or at least better than anything else I'm aware of (for free): Photo-to-text transcription. If I want a tool I can use to snap pictures I can search later using text, I might use Evernote for that because I don't know of a better option.

But if, for example, I want to write text (and still have it sync to every single device I use), I'm going to use Simplenote. It does one thing (plain-text notes), and it does it exceptionally well. It's also a system distinct from pictures, bookmarks, and files, so if I want to find a note I've written, I can go to Simplenote (or whatever Simplenote client I'm using) and get it without sifting through unrelated junk.

You may feel differently. In fact, I know that a lot of Lifehacker readers really love apps like Evernote. (I'm picking on Evernote because it's the most popular among our readers, not because it's the worst universal capture app.)

Whether you agree with me or not, let's hear what you think in the comments.

Work Smart 2: Perfect Your Digital Document Filing System [Fast Company]
The Case Against Everything Buckets [Alex Payne]
Adam Pash is the editor of Lifehacker and a lover of software that does one thing well. You can find his various productivity musings every day here at Lifehacker and with more off-message frequency @adampash on Twitter.